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The association of alcohol consumption with glaucoma and related traits: findings from the UK Biobank

Stuart, Kelsey V; Luben, Robert N; Warwick, Alasdair N; Madjedi, Kian M; Patel, Praveen J; Biradar, Mahantesh I; Sun, Zihan; ... the International Glaucoma Genetics Consortium, .; + view all (2022) The association of alcohol consumption with glaucoma and related traits: findings from the UK Biobank. Ophthalmol Glaucoma 10.1016/j.ogla.2022.11.008. (In press). Green open access

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Abstract

PURPOSE: To examine the associations of alcohol consumption with glaucoma and related traits; to assess whether a genetic predisposition to glaucoma modified these associations; and to perform Mendelian randomization (MR) experiments to probe causal effects. DESIGN: Cross-sectional observational and gene-environment interaction analyses in the UK Biobank. Two-sample MR experiments using summary statistics from large genetic consortia. PARTICIPANTS: UK Biobank participants with data on intraocular pressure (IOP) (n=109 097), OCT derived macular inner retinal layer thickness measures (n=46 236) and glaucoma status (n=173 407). METHODS: Participants were categorized according to self-reported drinking behaviors. Quantitative estimates of alcohol intake were derived from touchscreen questionnaires and food composition tables. We performed a two-step analysis, first comparing categories of alcohol consumption (never, infrequent, regular, and former drinkers), before assessing for a dose-response effect in regular drinkers only. Multivariable linear, logistic and restricted cubic spline (RCS) regression, adjusted for key sociodemographic, medical, anthropometric and lifestyle factors, were used to examine associations. We assessed whether any association was modified by a multi-trait glaucoma polygenic risk score. The inverse-variance weighted method was used for the main MR analyses. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: IOP, macular retinal nerve fiber layer (mRNFL) thickness, macular ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (mGCIPL) thickness, and prevalent glaucoma. RESULTS: Compared to infrequent drinkers, regular drinkers had higher IOP (+0.17mmHg; P<0.001) and thinner mGCIPL (-0.17μm; P=0.049); while former drinkers had a higher prevalence of glaucoma (OR 1.53; P=0.002). In regular drinkers, alcohol intake was adversely associated with all outcomes in a dose-dependent manner (all P<0.001). RCS regression analyses suggested non-linear associations, with apparent threshold effects at approximately 50g (∼6 UK or 4 US alcoholic units)/week, for mRNFL and mGCIPL thickness. Significantly stronger alcohol-IOP associations were observed in participants at higher genetic susceptibility to glaucoma (Pinteraction<0.001). MR analyses provided evidence for a causal association with mGCIPL thickness. CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol intake was consistently and adversely associated with glaucoma and related traits, and at levels below current UK (<112g/week) and US (women: <98g/week; men: <196g/week) guidelines. While we cannot infer causality definitively, these results will be of interest to people with, or at risk of, glaucoma and their advising physicians.

Type: Article
Title: The association of alcohol consumption with glaucoma and related traits: findings from the UK Biobank
Location: United States
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.ogla.2022.11.008
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ogla.2022.11.008
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright 2022 by the American Academy of Ophthalmology. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Keywords: Alcohol, UK Biobank, glaucoma, intraocular pressure, optical coherence tomography
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Institute of Ophthalmology
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10161667
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